BloodWitchInferno Read online

  “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

  She tensed, annoyed, as he started to laugh.

  “If it’s so funny then I might as well get it.” She started walking.

  He sprang up. “That would not be a good idea.” Although he made no move to grab her, this time the heat smoldering behind his eyes wasn’t lust, it was darker, deadly.

  “Why not?” she challenged, but stopped again.

  “Because, then you would have trapped one of the sons of the prince, and that would make the prince very angry. You do not want to do is make the Prince of Darkness angry.”

  “You mean you are the son of—” The blood drained from her face.

  “The one and only Satan, Lord of the Underworld, Son of the Morning, the Great Dragon himself.”

  Mira swallowed, her throat dry. “I conjured up the son of the Devil?

  “You Called a son of the Devil,” he corrected her. “I am Karnon. You are?”

  “Mira. And why did we, you know?”

  “Do what?”

  “Have sex like nothing but a couple of animals!” she burst out.

  He stared at her in astonishment. “You Called me.”

  Mira didn’t know what to say.

  “For such a strong blood-witch you know very little about your craft.”

  “I know plenty!” she lied.

  “The Calling is the ritual of passion. A blood-witch can call a demon for her pleasure and for conception, and he must obey.” Karnon stressed the last word.

  “You mean as a sex slave?” The thought of it disgusted her. Had she forced someone to have sex with her? Not that she could picture anyone forcing Karnon do to anything.

  “No, well it’s not supposed to be like that. Usually the blood calls a match, in power and in passion, and it’s enjoyable for both parties. They are taken by a higher power and lose themselves in the act,” he said, his voice sultry.

  She looked away, heat stirring inside her.

  “Things have changed though. The Calling has become less popular since the Great Betrayal,” he said.

  “Great Betrayal?”

  His expression made her wish she hadn’t spoken. She had already revealed how inexperienced she was. She calculated the distance to the salt line from the corner of her eye.

  “Why would someone of your strength, who calls a demon, not know our history?”

  Instead of answering she leapt out of the circle. He roared and jumped after her only to be slammed back by an invisible wall.

  Chest heaving, she stared at him as he slammed his fists against air, battering the space between them. Eventually he let his hands drop to his sides. Once certain he couldn’t reach her, she pulled on the remains of her clothes.

  “Blood-witch,” he spat.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I had to.”

  He growled and paced the salt line.

  “Please, stop,” she said, the comparison of a trapped lion too vivid.

  He froze. She blinked, surprised. Curious, she said, “Stand on one foot.”

  He lifted a leg. It was funny, except for the murderous expression on his face. Not willing to play with him anymore she pulled on her underwear and finished buttoning up her shirt.

  “Do you have to do everything I tell you?”

  He nodded, glowering, still standing on one foot.

  “You can stand on both feet. Do you have to tell me the truth too?”

  “Yes.”

  “If you are lying, jump up and down.”

  He did not move.

  “What was the Great Betrayal?”

  “A couple decades ago demons disappeared into your world. When the elders investigated they discovered the demons had been trapped by a coven of witches who used them in experiments to increase their power. We call it the Great Betrayal.” Karnon’s jaw clenched.

  “Why was it a betrayal?”

  “Because demons and witches are brethren.”

  “What happened to the witches?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Other witches stripped their power and demons banned them from entry to Hell, thus condemning them to walk the Earth forever.”

  “Do all blood-witches go to Hell?” Mira hoped her grandmother had gone on to a better place, not a fiery pit of the damned.

  “They pass on to other planes but they go through Hell first, as do the humans. Hell is a crossroads, not a punishment for the damned. The Greeks better understood it. Hell, the place, is not what mortals believe it is and we demons are not devils. We are the guides through the crossroads, as you blood-witches are guides on this plane.”

  “So there are no evil demons?”

  “There are, just like there are evil humans. Your demon guide is assigned to you based on your soul’s true nature.”

  “Then there is no Hell?”

  “True hell is being stuck here for the rest of eternity, without being allowed to pass on to other planes.”

  “How many other planes are there?”

  “That is beyond my knowledge.”

  Mira paused to consider the information. If her mother was performing a Calling spell when she disappeared how had it happened? Trying to speak in a neutral tone, she asked, “Does it happen the other way around?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do demons ever trap witches?”

  Karnon would not meet her eyes. He nodded.

  At last she had an answer. “Speak,” she demanded. “Tell me.”

  “I have heard of it happening,” he admitted. “Especially after the Great Betrayal. A sort of revenge. But the incidents are few. It requires a powerful magic.”

  “How do they do it?”

  “I only know one way but there are others. The demon performs a Calling with the witch’s blood.”

  Mira rose up to her full height, which wasn’t much as she only reached Karnon’s chest. Her mother had been kidnapped, taken by a demon. She had to find her.

  “If I go back with you will you hurt me?”

  He stared back at her, the anger in his eyes replaced by surprise.

  “Will you hurt me?” she asked again.

  “No.”

  Satisfied, she picked up the spell book from where it had been left, searching for the word to send him back.

  “Why do you want to come with me?”

  “My mother disappeared when I was six years old, during a Calling. I saw the spell page she was on before my grandmother pulled me away.”

  “Why now? Why didn’t your grandmother do it?”

  Mira considered. “My grandmother didn’t allow magic in the house after that. She was scared. But she’s gone now. So I performed the spell to find my mother.”

  “To have the kind of power to Call one of the sons of Satan usually takes years of practice. If you did it in one try you may be the most powerful witch in a century. Your bloodline must be of the Lady.” He stopped and his expression turned troubled. He cursed. “In the hands of someone who would use her, a witch from your bloodline…” he trailed off. “Do you understand if I took you back to Hell a demon could capture you and drain you of your power?”

  “Would I survive?” she whispered.

  “You would, although it would not be much of a life, as your life energy and witch’s power would be drained constantly. You would be like the demons who had been trapped here, living a half life. Aware of where you are but unable to do anything about it,” he said, his voice gentle.

  Mira almost hoped her mother had already passed on. But if she hadn’t, then it was up to Mira to save her. It was her fault her mother had stepped over the salt line. Her fault her grandmother had given up her love of magic. Her fault her family didn’t survive. If any hope at all existed that she could make amends, she would.

  “Would you do it? Would you drain me?” she asked, staring up at him.

  An unfathomable emotion flashed over his face. “No, I wouldn’t drain you.”

  He wasn’t telling her s
omething. She didn’t care. He couldn’t hurt her and he couldn’t drain her.

  “I will send you back,” she said. “But you are taking me with you.”

  Karnon stared at the witch in front of him with her wild hair, upturned nose and bright chocolate-colored eyes. The silky curves of her body still crackled with the energy of the night before, although she seemed oblivious to it. She had commanded him inside the salt circle and he had to obey. At least it seemed she wasn’t planning on trapping him here or draining his power. She probably didn’t even know she could drain him right now.

  Taking a witch back with him to Hell, that was crazy. It wasn’t done anymore. It was unsafe for both her and for him. Many demons at court were looking to boost their position, and the power this witch had would be a seductive lure. With her inexperience she would be an easy target. Karnon didn’t relish the idea of spending all of his time watching over this naive witch. Then again, the demons of Hell hadn’t seen a blood-witch in decades. Maybe it would be good for them. To see her as a person with a soul and not an evil, faceless being. Hell had not been the same since the Great Betrayal. Maybe this witch could be the salve to begin the healing process.

  But he had never been good at diplomacy. His older brother would be better. He had to convince her to stay.

  “It’s too dangerous. You could be caught and tortured,” he said. Her expression turned stubborn and he had the sinking sense nothing he could say would dissuade her.

  “I want to find my mother,” she said. “Help me find my mother, please.”

  He winced. She had spoken the words in a command, in essence put him under contract. He would be forced to search for this missing witch himself instead of launching an investigation through the proper channels. He sighed heavily. There was one way he could make it easier. He would add a spell on the other end, bind her power to his. She would never know.

  “Okay.”

  “You will not hurt me?” she asked.

  He resisted pointing out she had already asked him that. “No, I will not.” He reached out a hand. “I need blood.”

  Her eyes widened and she swallowed convulsively.

  “I’ll be right back.” She picked the ritual knife off the floor and disappeared down the stairs.

  Karnon kept the panic at bay with deep, even breaths. He was trapped but somehow he trusted this wide-eyed witch.

  She returned with a small vial, her pinkie bandaged.

  “You will bring me to your world and help me find my mother.” A command, not a question. She was learning.

  Slowly she stepped inside the circle and handed him the vial.

  He couldn’t help but admire her courage.

  She took a deep breath. “Return!”

  Nothing happened. Karnon still couldn’t believe that a witch this inexperienced had Called him.

  “You have to will it, with your power. Like last night.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths. He detected the power, the electricity growing inside her. The strength of it awed him. Maybe this witch was just what Hell needed. Strong enough to impress, sweet enough to win hearts.

  Mira opened her eyes. They glowed golden and the command came from deep inside her throat.

  The world went black around him.

  She stared at the empty pentagram and wondered how long it would take for him to keep his promise. He couldn’t hurt her, she reminded herself, calming her fluttering stomach.

  The world wrenched around her.

  Flames licked her skin. Delicious, like butterfly kisses across her body. She opened her eyes. She stood in an obsidian cave with glowing red rocks creating dim light. As her mind scrambled, her body took over. Waves of heat rolling through her flesh dampened her fear. She wasn’t Mira, she was an elemental being saturated with desire. She wanted to please, she wanted to obey, she wanted to give pleasure. Her insides thrummed.

  A movement caught her attention and she locked on to the figure. She tried to move forward, to reach him, to touch him, but she couldn’t move outside the circle. Confused, she strained against the invisible bonds. Her limbs would not respond. Baring her teeth, she growled. She wanted his flesh, his tongue in her mouth, his cock inside her.

  “You cannot move until I release you,” Karnon said, purring from the back of his throat. He paced back and forth in front of her.

  She watched him, sweat sliding down the side of her face, tickling her throat and dripping down her cleavage. A low groan gathered from the depths of her from the overpowering need to have this male. His firm butt tightened with his movements and she wanted to launch herself at his ass and bite down. The evidence of his desire, stiff and erect, lured her eyes to it, mocking her. She wanted to take him inside her. Liquid streamed down her thighs. The need filled her, the Calling consumed her. She threw her head back, thrashing and moaning, unable to bear the ecstasy and hunger.

  The strain on his part to hold back was evident on his sharp face. She fought the invisible chains but couldn’t move. He reached out and traced the slope of her shoulder. She cried out and thrust out her chest, her nipples hard. She inhaled his musky, spiced scent. Slowly he unbuttoned her shirt.

  “Please,” she whimpered.

  Delicately he pinched a nipple and she screamed in pleasure. Every touch, every breath sent chills through her veins. He held his face in a firm mask as he explored her body with feathery touches, causing her to squirm, writhe and buck. When he pulled off her underwear and found the warm, wet folds of her clit and slid his finger into her, she shuddered and went limp, held up only by the spell that locked her in place, filled with the slow, gliding movement of that one finger as it slid in and out of her. She sank into the movement, her pussy throbbing. She needed him. She had to have him.

  Slowly he brought it up to his lips and tasted her juices with his tongue.

  “Please,” she begged.

  Sparks of lightning wove through the tangy smell of sex. He watched her, his black eyes barely suppressing the lust that raged through him.

  “Yes.” He exhaled at last, a panting surrender.

  Released, she stumbled, unsure what to do first. She focused on him and he swallowed visibly. Growling, she leapt at him and wrapped her hands behind his head, pulling him down for a deep kiss.

  She dropped to her knees, clawing her fingernails down his stomach. He moaned as she flicked her tongue along his belly and tight thigh muscles around his dick. He grabbed her head and guided her mouth onto him. As she took all of him in, his hands tightened around fistfuls of her hair, yanking.

  She wrapped her hands around his waist and they slid down to caress the hard cheeks of his butt. She grazed the crack and thumbed her way into his asshole, teasing gently. A grumble of surprise and pleasure came from above her head. She plunged her thumb all the way in. He cried out, the sound echoing through the cavern. She stroked underneath his taut balls as she methodically sucked at his shaft. His thighs quivered, his hips thrusting forward. She pulled away, not ready to let him release yet.

  He yanked her to her feet, reminding her who controlled this Calling. Scooping her up, he carried her to the darkest corner of the cavern. Hidden in a crevice was a bed with sheets as black as the rocks around them. His home, the rational part of her whispered. He flung her onto the bed and crawled on top of her. His figure from above was outlined by the glowing rocks but his eyes burned red and heat radiated from his skin.

  He shifted to curl up behind her and trailed his fingers down her stomach while massaging her nipple with one hand. His body pushed against hers, his hard cock slipping into the crease of her behind. He pressed a finger inside of her pussy. She caught her breath. He played with her clit, expertly alternating between stroking it and dipping his finger into her pussy and wetting it with her liquid. She moaned and rocked in rhythm to his finger, pressing against his hard dick.

  His breath heavy in her ear, he nuzzled her neck. The sweat of their bodies made her slide and slip against his solid torso
. Feverish, she pushed up against him, her breath thick with the need to please, the need to give pleasure. He answered with a slow entry.

  She begged for him in gasping breaths, rolling onto her stomach and spreading her legs. At last he drove his cock all the way in. She arched in response, moaning with pleasure. Lost to the throes of the Calling, nothing existed except the movement of their conjoined bodies. He grasped her hips, pulling her up to all fours, and rode her. She screamed with pleasure as he pounded into her. The power wrapped around them as the pleasure swelled. He thrust harder and faster. She howled for more and he gave it to her. She peaked in jolted spasms and their cries melted together as he exploded into her.

  They collapsed, panting. As the rhythm of her heart slowed she succumbed to the overwhelming drowsiness, a soft smile on her lips.

  Chapter Three

  A Tour of Hell

  Mira prowled through the dark cave, waiting for Karnon to wake up. It was hot here, so hot she almost regretted pulling on her wrinkled shirt and underwear, and was glad she hadn’t brought pants. Her mind churned with the past events, the primal reaction she’d had to the Calling.

  She looked over at the sleeping form on the bed. She wondered how much her grandmother had known about the Calling and what had happened to her mother. Mira guessed probably everything. So why give it all up? Why did her grandmother not search for her missing daughter?

  She paced the length of the cavern again, looking for an exit, but the smooth ebony walls gave nothing away. Not that she would go out there in this state, still naked and badly in need of a shower, the heavy stench of post-sex sweat clinging to her.

  “Looking for a way out?”

  She yelped when his voice suddenly came through the darkness.

  He chuckled. “What happened to my big, bad, brave witch?”

  She could make out the outline of his rising form. The height of him, along with his horned head, made her swallow. He was indeed a demon, hell’s helper, son of Satan.

  She began to back away.

  He stopped, his muscled torso illuminated in the red light. His mouth quirked into a smile as his eyes lingered too long on her body.